Chapter 6

Four stacks of files lay on the desk in front of Peter, along with his laptop. Jazz from WGBH played faintly in the background. Peter rubbed his eyes, stretched, and pulled another folder from the tallest stack.

At least he wrote everything down, even if most of it doesn't make sense.

Olivia stood in the doorway, watching Peter as he skimmed the contents of the folder. How many nights had she done this with case files, going over the details dozens of times, looking for any clue that would bring her another step closer to resolution? And how many times had Peter coaxed her away?

She walked behind him, then leaned on his shoulder and set a small tumbler of whisky by his left hand. She rested her hands on his shoulders and began to massage the knots from his neck and back.

"Thanks, Liv. Ahh, that feels good," he mumbled, never looking up from the file in front of him.

"How's it going?" She asked softly, still rubbing his shoulders. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Find Walter…" he sighed. He took one of Olivia's hands in his, and leaned back, resting his head against the back of the chair.

"Come to bed, Peter… You've been at this for hours." She kissed the top of his head. "I miss you."

"Is this how you felt all those times I tried to get you to take a break?" His voice was serious, but he was smirking. "Isn't this the part where you kiss me and promise me mind-blowing sex if I'll just come to bed?"

"Did that work?"

"Most of the time."

"Then yeah, this is that part." She leaned over and brushed her lips against his stubbly cheek. "If you shave before you come to bed… and if you can stay awake."

"How can I refuse?" He chuckled and shut down the laptop. "But shaving, huh?" He wrapped his arm around Olivia as they walked out of the room.

"Well, it's not a requirement… but it severely limits your options if you don't," she teased.

ooo

Twenty minutes later, Peter emerged from the bathroom in a burst of steam. Olivia was already in bed, reading, but she marked her place and laid the book aside as he climbed into bed.

He nuzzled her neck, then asked, "Better?"

With a smile, Olivia cupped his cheek. "Much… I might let you kiss me now."

Never one to turn down a challenge, Peter rolled on his back and brought Olivia with him. He tugged at her shoulders until she leaned down for a kiss.

"Best distraction I've had in a while," he said as he tangled his fingers in her hair and brought her down for another kiss. While they'd had their nights of fast and hard, this was a night of gentle and leisurely, the journey as important, if not more so, than the destination.

They'd had a lot of nights like this one since that day in the park, since they'd both seen a future where they were more apart than together. They held each other a little tighter, kissed a little more often, said "I love you" more frequently, to each other and to Etta.

Olivia rolled to her side, and snuggled into Peter as he turned to face her. When he tipped her head up for another kiss, she cupped his cheek and studied his face. "You look tired."

He shrugged, but he didn't deny it.

"You don't have to do it all. Nobody expects you …"

"Nobody expects me to fill Walter's shoes?" He snorted derisively.

"Nobody expects you to do it all by yourself."

He gave a heavy sigh, and pulled her closer. "I knew he'd done some amazing stuff…" He shook his head. "I've been reading his textbooks, and transcripts of some of his lectures. Theorizing about all this is genius… but Walter made it real."

"Which has not always been a good thing," Olivia observed wryly.

"True, but he had the intellect…"

"And the hubris. Nobody wants you to BE Walter."

Einai kalytero anthropo apo ton patera toy thought Olivia. The endless cycle of Bishop fathers and sons.

She ran her hand down his naked back, still warm from his shower. Nothing she could say would make him feel Walter's equal… but there was always distraction.

"Remember the part where I promised you mind-blowing sex?"

"Mmmm…" His face was buried in her neck, nuzzling his way to her clavicle. "I shaved." He rolled her on her back, and smirked down at her. "And I'm still awake."

Olivia wiggled under him, getting comfortable and enjoying the feel of his body reacting to her. She ran her fingers through his still damp curls and caressed the back of his neck. She stopped, and gently ran her fingertips against his nape again.

In between kisses, he mumbled, "It's not there."

Olivia tensed and he looked up at her. "It's not there. The scar." He blinked slowly. "But I remember it all."

She tangled her fingers in his hair and brought his face down to hers. "I don't want to lose you again," she whispered fiercely. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and kissed him deeply. "I was sure I'd lost you, too."

Peter rested his forehead against her shoulder. "You brought me back. Again."

She cupped his cheek and tilted his face so that she could see his eyes; like hers, they were shining with tears – the memories of their losses and the price they paid to prevent them lay just below the surface of everything they did. In quiet moments like these, the 'everything's fine' masks of the day came off; Olivia could clearly see the stress and sadness on Peter's face, evidenced by every new line around his eyes and every silver thread hiding among the auburn curls. No matter how much she tried to hide it, Peter knew that Olivia felt the weight of their memories, the fear that somehow the events that Walter left them in order to prevent would yet become their reality again.

"Not leaving," Peter murmured between kisses. He rubbed his less-scruffy cheek against hers. "Not getting rid of me this time."

Just like they'd started the night, with gentle kisses and languid touches, they ended it the same way, Peter cradled Olivia as he rocked easily against her, and she stroked his back, loving the feel of his muscles tensing as he sank into her.

As they neared their climax, Peter propped himself up on one elbow and gazed at Olivia.

In response to her questioning look, he brushed his lips against hers. "I don't ever want to forget how beautiful you are like this," he whispered.

Her arms tightened around him and she gave a sigh of deep contentment as her orgasm rolled over her. She murmured his name as he buried his face against her. His breathing hitched, his body tensed, and he groaned into her shoulder as he followed her over the edge.

They fell asleep in a loose embrace. Olivia's last conscious thought was the reassurance she felt from the steady rise and fall of Peter's chest under her head.